A cleaning fluid container of this type is known from DE 199 18 287 C1. This cleaning fluid container has at its outlet port a very fine-mesh filter element. The filter element intercepts all particles, such as hair and skin particles, which do not settle along a sedimentation path in the cleaning fluid container, in order to prevent them from entering a pump assembly. However, particularly after a certain number of cleaning cycles, the filter element may become clogged under circumstances. This requires the use of a relatively high pump capacity to prevent a reduction of the flow rate by the clogged filter element. A diminished pump jet means that a cleaning well receiving a shaving head is filled incompletely and at too slow a rate. This deteriorates the cleaning action of the cleaning device materially. Furthermore, the fluid jet then fails to clean thoroughly the area behind the outer cutter of the shaving head, meaning the interior of the shaving head.
To enable a pump with a reduced capacity to be used it would be necessary to exchange the cleaning fluid container, which is in the form of a cartridge, more frequently, which is however not desirable in respect of the utilization factor of the fluid volume.
The present invention is based on the realization that particularly small particles, in particular suspended particles, which essentially are made up of skin particles, are responsible for the clogging of a filter element. According to the invention, these relatively small particles are allowed to pass through the filter element. The small particles allowed to pass are of a size enabling a fine filter fabric or the like to be dispensed with in the area of the outlet port. These relatively small particles can be circulated through the pump without damaging it.
Retrofitting a cleaning device is a particularly simple task since the filter element heretofore used can be simply omitted, using the cleaning fluid container of the invention.
Furthermore, shavers with a sharp undercutter may be employed—without appreciably degrading cleaning performance. These shavers may produce a higher content of skin particles in the hair dust.
Large particles, such as relatively long beard hairs, are entrapped on the large-pore filter of the invention and hence prevented from reaching the pump. These relatively large particles will not clog the filter element, not even if the cleaning device is used particularly frequently without replacing the cleaning fluid container. Accordingly, the service life of the cleaning fluid container of the invention is particularly long.